Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front party, has been found guilty of embezzling EU funds. The court ruled that her party misused 4.5 million euros in EU support to finance work on a national level. This is against EU laws. The judges said that Le Pen, as the instigator of the scheme, was more culpable than those who participated.
Le Pen has been sentenced to 45 months of ineligibility, with 30 months on bail. She has also been fined 100,000 euros. However, her ineligibility period has already ended, which means she can still run for president. Le Pen is the frontrunner in current opinion polls and is expected to win the election.
The French presidential elections are still nine months away, and a lot can change in politics during this time. Le Pen's popularity has been boosted by her reduced sentence, and some believe that she will win the election.
